Acceptance Under the Sakura
by DevilsTrill
Summary: A year after his parents' death, Kenji still holds a grudge against his father. That is, until a certain doctor helps him snap out of it. ~Post Seisouhen~


A/N: Hey, Kitsune back again so soon. I wrote this after watching the Seisouhen OAVs. I wept. A lot. I'm not sure how I felt about them because in the fansub that I have, the timing was a bit off. Don't know if it was them or my comp. Anyway, I didn't think they wrapped up Kenji's feelings about his father very well, so I decided to write this piece. I used Megumi because I figured she'd be the one to slap some sense into the kid. And since there was the "ghosts watching over us" theme in both OAVs, I decided to add the bit at the end. You'll see what I mean.  
  
Anywho, none of these characters belong to me. Though I wish Kenji did cause he's such a cutie. Ahem. Anyway, read and respond. I need to know what people think so I can keep doing good. Oh, and please tell me some specifics in your feedback. Something other than "It was good. I liked it." Domo arigatou..  
  
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Acceptance Under the Sakura  
  
A Kitsune-onna production  
  
The sakura blossoms were falling, spreading a pink blanket over the deserted graveyard. Footsteps barely disturbed the peaceful silence, but the air was alive with anger. The source of those steps stopped as he came to two graves. The graves of his parents. He dropped to his knees before his mother's stone and bowed his head, red hair falling in a curtain around his face. Softly he whispered a prayer before lingering there in silence. His eyes opened then and focused on the other grave. Violet narrowed as he pushed to his feet and moved in front of that one. Fist clenched at his sides, nails nearly drawing blood from his palm. Something slipped down his cheek. A tear. One and then more soon followed.  
  
"How could you do this to us? You tore us apart. Gave okasan the same disease you carried in your body. You were never the husband she should have had." Shaking the boy fell to his knees in front of his father's grave. The father he despised for walking away from him and his mother. "You should have been there for us."  
  
Little did the boy know that he was not alone. The woman watched and listened from a respectful distance away, saddened by the words she heard from the boy's mouth. It had been a year to the day since his parents had passed. The grief had torn him apart, ate away at his insides and there was nothing anyone could say that would make him stopped hating the man who had helped create him.  
  
With a shake of her head, the woman moved from her spot behind the tree and behind the boy. She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. He turned in her arms and buried his head in the fabric of her kimono, weeping. Gently she stroked his hair, feeling his sorrow as if it were her own.  
  
"Gomen nasai, Kenji-kun." Those were the only words she offered him. The only ones she could think of.  
  
Abruptly, the boy pulled away, jumping up to his feet. "Sorry? What do you have to be sorry for? You weren't the one who tore my family apart. He did." Kenji pointed back at the grave behind him. It was disrespectful to talk about those dead in front of them, but he didn't care. There was too much going on inside of him.  
  
Takani Megumi looked up at the boy. He was so much like both of his parents. He was the image of Kenshin, but had both parents' demeanors. For a moment, Megumi wasn't sure which one he was taking after. It was all she could do to keep the smile from quirking at the corners of her lips.  
  
"I hate him. I hate him for everything he did to us!"  
  
Megumi rose to her feet then, looking down at the boy. "That's enough, Kenji-kun. You've laid enough blame on him already. You can't even let him rest in peace." She took a deep breath, fighting back her own temper. "Let's take a walk."  
  
By the way the doctor wrapped an arm around his shoulders, Kenji knew that it wasn't an offer, but an order. He allowed her to lead him away from the graves and out onto the road. There was silence between them as they walked. Since his parents' death, Megumi had moved from Aizu and back to Tokyo to take care of him. All he wanted to do was return to his teacher and finish with his lessons. He knew, though, that Megumi must have convinced Hiko to give him some time off. He didn't want that. I had been a year already. If he didn't get back to work soon he was going to become slow.  
  
"Your father loved you very much, Kenji-kun."  
  
The statement had come so suddenly that Kenji blinked up at the doctor, confusion in those deep eyes. "Nani?"  
  
"I said your father loved you very much. But I'm sure you knew that already." Her eyes were kept on the road ahead of them, never straying to look down at the boy at her side.  
  
"Of course he did. That's why he left us behind."  
  
Megumi shook her head and finally looked down at him. "Your father had fought almost his entire life. It was all he knew. When he gave his sword up to Yahiko-kun, he started to feel like he was worthless. He needed to be helping. That was how he atoned for his sins. Your mother knew this."  
  
"He gave her the disease."  
  
"She accepted the risks." At his look of surprise, Megumi went on to explain. "She was devoted to him. He was her husband and she his wife. She knew she would contract it. Silly tanuki-chan."  
  
Kenji pulled out from under her arm and glared up at her. "How can you defend him?"  
  
"Because he helped me once. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here. I would have killed myself instead of gone on working for Kanryuu. Kenji-kun, your father doesn't deserve to be blamed for the way he was. And you can't blame your mother for loving him."  
  
The boy shook his head and sank to his knees. He wasn't going to cry again. Crying was for the weak. But he did cry because he knew Megumi was right. His father didn't deserve the hatred he laid upon him. And his mother didn't deserve it either. When Megumi knelt again to wrap her arms around him, he held onto her till the tears subsided.  
  
"Forgive me, otousan. Forgive me." It was barely a whisper as his body shook with sobs.  
  
The doctor pressed a kiss to his forehead, holding him tightly. "There's nothing to forgive, Kenji-kun. He loved you very much and he regretted what he felt he had to do. They're both watching you and I know they're both very proud of you."  
  
"Arigatou, Megumi-san." He looked up at her and gave her a smile that was very reminiscent of his father's. He could feel something lifted from his shoulders, a burden he had put on himself. His head dropped to Megumi's shoulder, taking comfort there. More than a doctor, she had become his mother in the past year. Even if he wouldn't admit it out loud, he was grateful for what she had done for him.  
  
Megumi kissed the top of the boy's head again and ruffled that red hair. "Let's go home, Ken-kun. I'll send Hiko-san a letter and tell him that you're ready to continue."  
  
Another shocked look was given to the doctor.  
  
"The two of us had agreed that you wouldn't be ready to return to your training until you've come to terms with who your father is. Now you might be ready." She gave him a wink and rose, pulling him to his feet with her. Her arm went around his shoulders again as she led him away from the graveyard and back to the Kamiya dojo.  
  
~~~  
  
Back at the graveyard, two figures watched them move out of sight. Both smiled, hands joining. Their son had finally forgiven them. Together, Himura Kenshin and Kamiya Karou walked under the sakura trees one last time before vanishing into the bright day.  
  
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Ok. That's that. Please please leave feedback about this random bit that I wrote. 


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